eowland



(No Model.)

0. A. HO-WLAND.

STORE SERVICE APPARATUS.

Patented Apr. 15, 1890.

PATENT Fries...

OLIVER A. I-IOWVLAND, OF TORONTO, ONTARIO, CANADA.

STORE-SERVICEQAPPARATUS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 425,430, dated April 15, 1890.

Application filed May 7, 1889- Serial No. 309,901- (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OLIVER AIKEN How- LAND, a subject of Her Britanic Majesty Queen Victoria, residing at the city of Toronto, in the county of York and Province of Ontario, in the Dominion of Canada, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in a Store-Service Apparatus; and I do hereby declare that the following is a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, which will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

Figure l is an elevation illustrating my invention. Figs. 2 and 3 are detailed views somewhat enlarged of parts thereof. Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of part of the frame of the traveler. Fig. 5 is an elevation, also enlarged, of a hanger.

The object of this invention is to carry on ders or packages from one place to another, the thing moved or carried being suspended in difierent positions or at different heights during its transit from the height at which it is at first connected with the track over which it is carried.

Like reference-letters indicate like parts in all the figures. v

A is a track upon which a traveler B, to be hereinafter more fully described, is supported. At one end the track is pivoted at C to the lower end of a hanger D, the opposite end being supported against lateral movement by a slot E or bracket or hanger E, through which it passes.

f is a pulley connected by a cord g g with a hand-lever F, and having the vibrating end of track A also connected with the cord, so that by means of the hand-lever the swinging end of the track can be raised or lowered to reverse the inclination .of the track. Upon this track I mount a traveler, which consists, essentially, of two triangular frames H H, having grooved wheels mounted in their upper corner, so that the apices of the triangles hang below the track and by their weight tend to maintain the frames in a vertical position, and as will be readily understood without further explanation. With this traveler I combine a receiver and means for automatically lifting the receiver at each end of the route for supporting it upon the traveler during its trip over apart of the route and for automatically lowering the receiver at each end of its trip.

As a convenient contrivance for embodying thisinvention, I propose to employ the following mechanism:

I is an axle or short shaft mounted in slots h h, formed for its reception in the lower ends of the frames H H, so that it can rise and fall therein.

J is a winding-pulley fixed upon the axle and arranged between the two frames.

As this apparatus is intended more particularly for use under conditions where very light articles are to be transported, I prefer to make use of a friction device or connection between the winding pulley or drum and the traveler of such character that, although the drum is free to be rotated in opposite directions at both ends of the route or track, it

will not locate relatively to the traveler at intermediate points. By an examination of the drawings it will be understood that the slots 7?. h are of such length that the axle of the winding-pulley is adapted to rise and fall, so that when the wheels are in engagement with the supplemental tracks thewindingpulley will be rotated in the proper direction; but those slots do not form bearings for the axle in the ordinary acceptation of that word, where it is used to indicate a support upon which the shaft is hung and rotates.

L L are wheels, preferably grooved, and mounted loosely on the axle I. K K are also wheels, preferably grooved or flanged and fixed upon the axle. hen the axle rests in the lower ends of the slots, its weight, together with that of the winding-pulley and the wheels K L, will produce such frictional contact between the parts as will prevent the winding pulley or drum from being turned by a receiver, to be hereinafter described. As this frictional contact is produced by the weight of the rotating parts, I propose to call it a gravity friction-connection. In order to break the connection and release such connection, I employ at one end of the route a supplemen tal track, which performs two independent functions, one function being to break the connection, the other being to elevate the carrier and lower it. end of the route I employ two supplemental At the other I tracks, one of which breaks the frictional connection, the other serving to elevate and lower the carrier. WVhenever, in referring to such parts, I use the word connection, I mean a temporary contact of such character as will control or modify their operation.

M M are short tracks suspended below the track A and parallel therewith. I prefer to connect these tracks M with track A by a hanger with a sleeve 4% at its upper end surrounding that track.

N O are short tracks at the opposite end of trail; A and also substantially parallel therewit The tracks N N are so placed relatively to the track A that they shall be traversed by the loose wheels L L.

The tracks M are so placed relatively to track A and the slots H H that the wheels K K will traversethose tracks M M and rest upon them, so as to rotate those wheels and the winding-wheel J in one direction or the other, according to which way the traveler as a whole is moving. So, also, the tracks N N O O are so located relatively to track A that when the traveler is at that end of track A the loose wheels L L will ride upon tracks N N'and lift wheels K K up into engagement with tracks 0 and rotate the winding-wheel J.

P is a cord or other flexible connection attached to and adapted to be wound upon winding-wheel J, with a receiver or recepta- 1016 of some sort-such, for instance, as a hook Q-at its lower end. By preference I connect thereceiver with the cord by means of a ring R, adapted to slide overa bent wire S to prevent undue swaying of the receiver.

T is a signal or indicator with a connecting wire or rod V and a pull W, whereby attention may be called from a point near where the hanger D is located to a point near where the hanger E is located.

This device may be operated as follows: Supposing the parts to be in the position shown in Fig. 1, a person can attach, for instance, a bill of fare to the receiver Q, and by means of the signal or indicator T notify some one of such fact. Such person can by lever I lower the movable end of track A,when the traveler will move toward that lowered end. In doing so the wheels K traverse the tracks M, will wind up the cord P, and elevate the receiver. When the wheels K leave those tracks, the axle I will rest upon the lower ends of the slots h and hold the receiver in its elevated position until the loose wheels L L engage with tracks N N and thrust the wheels K K up against tracks 0 O,which will reverse the direction of rotation of the winding-pulley J and also the receiver. Of course a reverse movement of all these parts may be effected by raising the movable end of track A until the traveler will run in the opposite direction back to its starting-point.

The means employed for elevating the carrier are substantially alike at both ends of the track in that part of these devices are stationary and part are attached to and are moved by the traveler, and they are further alike in that at both ends of the route the raising and lowering of the carrier are automatically effected by the movement of the traveler when running over those portions of the track which are adjacent to the ends of the track. So, also, at both ends of the route the frictional connection between the traveler and the carrier is broken or released by the engagement of wheels with supplemental tracks, which lift the axle from the lower parts of theslots.

The; guide Swill by its engagement with the ring R prevent undue sidewise swaying of the receiver and thus insure that the cord P shall be properly directed to the windingwheel J.

I claim- 1. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a winding-drum, a friction device connecting the winding-drum with the traveler, means for rotating the wind-' ing-drum at one part of the route, and means for releasing the frictional connection at an other part of the route, substantially as set forth.

2. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with a main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a winding-drum on the traveler, a receiver, a supplemental track at one part of the route, and means contacting with the supplemental track to rotate the winding-drum for elevating the receiver, substantially as set forth.

too

3. In a store-service apparatus, the combi nation, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a receiver having a winding-drum, a supplemental track at one.

part of the route, and means contacting with the supplemental track to rotate the drum for lowering the receiver at one part of the route.

v 4. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a carrier having'a winding-drum on a receiver, two supplemental tracks at different parts of the route,

and means on the winding-drum tocontact with the supplemental tracks for elevating the receiver at one part of the route and lowering the receiver at the other part of the route.

5. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a drum having an axle mounted in vertical slots formed in the traveler, and a supplemental track below the main track for lifting the axle and winding-. drum, substantially as set forth.

6. In a store-service apparatus, the combiantion, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, an axle mounted in the traveler and adapted to rise and fallrela- I tively thereto, a winding-drum on the-axle,

and a supplemental track adapted to lift the axle and drum as the traveler moves over that part of the main track which is adjacent to the supplemental track, substantially as set forth.

7. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a winding-drum on the traveler movable Vertically thereon, a supplemental track for lifting the winding-drum,

and a supplemental track for rotating the winding-drum, substantially as set forth.

8. In a store-service apparatus, the combination, with the main track, of a traveler running on the main track, a Winding-drum on the traveler and movable vertically relatively to the traveler, Wheels fixed upon the axle of the traveler, wheels mounted loosely upon the axle, a supplemental track at one end of the main track to engage with the loose Wheel and lift the winding-drum and its axle, and a supplemental track at the same end of the main track to engage With the fixed Wheels of the axle when it is lifted, substantially as set forth.

Toronto, April 16, 1889.

FRANK S. KNOWLAND, HARRY T. FINCH. 

